It’s funny how we gradually accumulate skills. About a year ago, we first learned how to tie a bow tie. That it took so long cause us some embarrassment. We just never had occasion to learn. We wore bow ties only a handful of times with tuxedos—high school prom, as groomsmen in weddings, an occasional charity gala—and those were rented and clip-on.

We never considered the bow tie for non-tuxedo occasions. Bow ties seemed at best a gimmick and sometimes a joke. We wanted to garner more respect than Pee Wee Herman or Barney Fife.

Our tune has changed. We came to understand a simple truth. The potential impression depends much more on the bow tie’s wearer than the on bow tie itself. For competent and skilled gentlemen, a bow tie can enhance gravitas and convey personality.

A bow tie says, “I’m confident and independent. I don’t obey orthodoxy for the sake of conforming. Yet, I don’t take myself too seriously. After all, I’m just a guy walking around town with a patterned piece of dyed cloth around my neck.”

Great men have worn bow ties. President Abraham Lincoln did when he delivered the Gettysburg Address. Prime Minister Winston Churchill did when he lead Britain through World War II. Plenty of Noble Prize winners, noted historians, famed attorneys, and trusted journalists wore bow ties. So do we at G@H.

We own about five bow ties. We cycle them through our routine wardrobe. We aren’t exclusively “bow tie guys”—more like gentlemen who enjoy the occasional bow tie. We recommend the lifestyle: it’s liberating.

You should get yourself a few too. First, though, learn how to tie one, which is what YouTube.com is for.